Affinity

Prompt: Crystal

Rating: T

Title: Something Precious

Summary: The most monumental duty, the ultimate sacrifice.


He charges up the stone steps, sword raised and armor clinking with the movement. Mercilessly, he cuts down anybody that happens to cross his path, anybody who dares to deter him from his goal.

Making it to the entrance of the temple, all the Guardians having been cut down, he moves swiftly over the marble floor while his companions following closely behind.

If he had been in the mood to admire his surroundings, Sasuke would have gazed at the intricate carvings engraved into towering pillars, iron depictions over expanse frosted windows, and molded ceilings stretching out through the seemingly endless corridor. Darkness, having fallen long before the Uchiha's initial assault, fills the hall, the only light coming from numerous candelabras and the occasional flicker of lightening.

After what seems like an hour of walking down the uniform passage, the group of men happens upon two impressive double doors seemingly made out of carved ivory. With little hesitation, Sasuke orders some men to push them open.

The large chamber that is revealed to them looks completely different from the old fashion and detailed foyer they just left. The first word that comes to mind is 'white' followed quickly by 'modern'.

Bluish-white lights projecting from the floor fill the room, revealing the large stage-like plane in the center.

Four women sit around the rectangular platform, sweeping white robes covering their bodies with hoods hang over their heads.

Upon seeing Sasuke, they all rise in unison before stepping down to stand before him.

"Have you come to say a prayer, sir?" one of them asks in a tinkling voice.

"No," to add emphasis, he flicks his katana to the side, sending the blood once adorning it flying to the floor.

"You are here for the crystal then," another woman says, her voice identical to the first.

"We can't kill them," whispers his right hand man, the sight of the calm, uniform women unnerving him.

Without warning, Sasuke makes a large sweep with his weapon, vast enough to cut through each of the women. As the blade touches them, however, their bodies disperse into mist.

"Intelligent," a voice, just like that of the women says from above.

Sasuke raises his eyes to see yet another figure in a large white robe descending from a twisting staircase that leads down from a darkened doorway cut within one of the walls. With each step, the immaculate fabric moves to the side revealing porcelain legs and small, bare feet that are decorated with delicate silver chains.

The room is filled with anticipation as she slowly makes her way down from the high platform.

She comes to stand in front of the group of men, her face from the nose up hidden by the hood. Nonetheless, Sasuke still acknowledges when her gaze rests upon his katana and the blood now splattered on the luminous floor.

"You killed the Guardians," she states her tone neither accusing nor saddened.

It is not a question, but Sasuke nods in response anyways. "I'm here for the crystal."

"Isn't everybody?" she asks with a cruel chuckle. "The crystal, the ultimate power. The most generous giver, or the most destructive destroyer."

Her passive tone causes anger to bubble up within Sasuke, urging him to raise his blade to her neck.

She only reacts by lifting her hands and throwing back her hood.

Emerald eyes filled with fire gaze up at him through rose-colored eyelashes, but her mysterious coloring is not what catches his eye. Hanging around her neck on a silver chain is a large crystal with an eerie glow to it.

Without thinking, Sasuke slits her throat. Her eyes widen for a moment before a large wave of crimson waterfalls down her neck, marring the pure white fabric.

As her legs give way, the slayer catches her lifeless body. Ignoring the slight gasps from the men around him, he flips the woman over. Her hand hits the floor with a sickening slap, splattering the pool of blood gathered there.

Grasping the crystal her gives it a strong tug, expecting the clasp to give way. However, the lavaliere refuses to loosen and her whole neck jolts up with the action.

With an irritable huff, Sasuke attempts to break the chain with a dagger, but to no avail. He throws the weapon to the ground and rises, wanting to kick something in frustration. He settles for the knife and punts it across the room, the action causing the screech of metal to resound.

A frightful gasps causes him to whirl back around and face his men. He notices all of their gazes back on the body of the woman. He turns to assess the damage done and is shocked to see the blood on the floor flowing back towards her neck. Even the crimson that had dyed her dress glides back into the narrow wound, not even leaving a stain to account for it ever being there.

He watches in crude fascination as the flesh of her throat knits itself back together leaving it as the flawless column it was before his attack.

Emerald eyes flutter open turning a blank stare to Sasuke.

"You really are desperate," she says. Her voice betrays no emotion as she gracefully rises from her lying position and moves to, once again, stand in front of the onyx eyed man. "So tell me," she pauses, "what is it you need my power for?"


"I never expected the world to look like this," the woman, Sakura, states as she watches a blue butterfly dance between bright yellow flowers. Her horse, a white mare of course, whinnies in response. "The world is so much different than I imagined, all the diverse terrains and colors, even the weather changes."

He suppresses an eye roll, having come used to her naivety in the past couple days of travel. So far he has learned that she lived her whole life within the Crystal's Temple, having been tutored by the priests and told stories of the outside world by the Guardians. When she was born, she could barely breathe, and her parents, having lived in the nearby town, brought her to the temple. The priests placed the crystal around her neck and she was healed, however, the chain could not be removed, binding her to the crystal forever.

An embodiment of the crystal itself, she had told him. A glorified storage container for the power.

His thoughts are interrupted when his own horse halts suddenly before rearing up and nearly tossing Sasuke from its back.

A rain of arrows flies from the sky, piercing a few of the other men's steeds. Shouting orders at his men to strike back at the attackers, he scans the chaos for a flash of pink. He watches in horror, as Sakura's own horse is struck, causing it to begin bucking the girl off.

Gaining control over his animal once more, Sasuke guides it towards Sakura, before pulling her off of the wild mare and onto his own horse. Quickly, he removes his cloak and tosses it over her head.

With luck, the attackers are simply robbers targeting travelers; on the other hand it could be somebody trying to intercept them specifically. Either way, it is best to keep Sakura concealed from view.

Green eyes peer over the dark cloth, taking in the scene around her. She watches as Sasuke's men expertly dodge the airborne ammunition, until one is taken off guard and an arrow pierces his chest. With a shout of exclamation, she begins trying to wiggle out of Sasuke's grasp. Her squirming causes her to fall off of the horse, but she lands on her feet as graceful as ever.

Sasuke shouts at her to come back, but the blur of pink disappears before his eyes. He scans the field, the arrows having stopped now that his men had begun to fire back. Eventually, he spots her kneeling next to a fallen man.

Dismounting his horse, he rushes over to her, ready to scold her for taking off like that. However, curiosity gets the better of him as he watches her fearlessly pull out the arrow and lean over the man.

"He's dead," Sasuke tells her, trying to get her back on his horse.

"You forget," she responds quietly before brushing back the man's hair and lowering her lips to his, "I hold the power of life."

Sasuke watches, a tight feeling tugging at his gut, as her lips linger upon the dead man's. He turns away not wanting to witness whatever it is the crystal bearer is doing.

A strangled gasps startles him as he returns his eyes to the once corpse. The man continues gasping and gulping at the air, his eyes focused solely on Sakura's face.

"Now you can watch son grow up," she whispers before falling forward. Sasuke moves without a thought and wraps his arms around her before she can hit the dirt. His own frightened gaze locks with the other man's as they realize what just took place.


He watches her like a hawk as she begins shifting around. He finds the movement comforting seeing that she has been motionless for hours. It is a good thing too because hours is how long Sasuke needed to process what had occurred.

He has heard stories about the great crystal how it can cure anything, but this had been his first time witnessing that power first hand. That man had been dead, and dead means gone forever.

End of story.

But no.

With the powers within her, this woman brought him back.

Her eyelids flutter open and Sasuke is instantly by her side. "What the hell was that?" he questions, frustration making his voice sound harsher than he meant.

"The crystal," she whispers while shakily trying to sit up. The arm she uses as support gives out and Sasuke reaches out to catch her once again.

"So what, the crystal has the ability to bring anybody back to life, no questions asked?" his mind fills with the images of his murdered family. "Why the hell would you want to keep that power hidden?"

"It is not as simple as you make it sound," she answers sternly while shrugging off his hold on her arms. "Not everyone can be revived."

Rising to her feet, she begins stretching her stiff muscles. "The crystal searches the person's mind and deems them worthy or not of revival."

Anger flares through Sasuke at this. "Still, why not give anybody a chance to use it?"

"It is not without consequence," as if to emphasize her point, she sways on her feet, almost falling to her knees.

"You-" Sasuke begins, but she cuts him off.

"I already told you that my body is merely a vessel for the power. Otherwise," she pauses, peering straight into his eyes, "you would not need me to come along and restore the world's core."

Realizing what her words are implying he finds himself shutting down, reverting back to his emotionless façade.

"We need to get moving," he tells her before throwing the blanket she had been laying on over her shoulders and shouting orders at his men.


"Why were you chosen to save your world?" She asks her body turned to face him as they both sit on his midnight colored stallion.

He hesitates to respond, before looking into her imploring green eyes. "Just like you have received power from the heavens, I have received it from this earth." His allows his eyes to flash red, revealing his power to her.

"The Sharigan," she breathes out, much to his surprise.

"You've heard of it?" he asks, directing his attention back to guiding his horse.

"Yes, but I always thought it a myth," she pauses as if in thought. "So what caused you to break in such a way that you sought the darkness for power?"

"We should take a break," he states, effectively avoiding her question.


More days pass and the effects of the diminishing life of the world have grown more apparent throughout their travels. The sun no longer rises leaving everything in darkness, foliage is brown and dried out due to not receiving nourishment from the ground, and wildlife has been replaced by vicious creatures known as Shadows which attack anything on sight.

The Shadows had slowed down the group's travels quite a bit, forcing them to fight or flee. On the tenth day of strenuous navigation, they finally reach the cavern that leads to the heart of the world. By now it is in its final moments, and onslaughts of earthquakes force the group to travel by foot through the dark cave, guided only by the glowing light of the crystal.

It is while they are walking through a particularly narrow cavern that the ground begins violently shaking. Stalactites begin falling from the ceiling and deep rumbling alerts the group of a cave in.

Before Sakura can even begin to run, a large body crashes into her and knocks her out of the way of a large falling boulder.

Once regaining her bearings, she finds herself looking up into the unfocused obsidian eyes of none other than Sasuke.

His breaths come out in strangled gasps, his back having been crushed by the falling rock. Gently moving out from under his body, Sakura rests his head in her lap.

"You idiot," she tells him, tears flowing from her eyes. "Why would you do that? I am unable to die."

"Hn," he grunts out before adding, "instinct."

Sakura watches as his eyes close and immediately makes up her mind. Lowering her lips to his, she begins the process of revival, praying that he is worthy of it.

She is assaulted with various flashes of his life. Him as a child hunting with a boy that looks like an older version of himself. Him running into a beautiful woman's embrace as she ruffles his hair.

Sakura's heart drops as she finds herself watching him walking into his house only to find the corpses of his parents laying in a pool of blood, the same older boy from before standing with a katana raised over the damage.

"Big brother? Why would you do something like this!" he shouts before falling to his knees.

"I have found the ultimate power, Sasuke."

The remaining images rapidly flicker by her. A small boy reaching into the darkness for power, clutching his eyes as the power of the Sharigan takes its hold. A teenager now, shouting into the sky as he kneels over the corpse of his brother. A young man as the council dotes upon him the task of reviving the world. Him charging into the temple striking down the Guardians and Priests. Remaining by her side as she lies unconscious for hours after reviving one of his men.

Her hands begin to shake as she breathes life into him. Mentally crossing her fingers she sits back on her heels and waits.

A second later, his deep inhales resound through the cave. Sakura lets out a sigh of relief and before she can stop herself, she throws herself on to him. Tears spill down her face. She only catches a glimpse of Sasuke's surprised features before all goes black.


After giving himself some time to recover from dying and coming back, Sasuke lifts Sakura into his arms and begins continuing through the series of caverns.

During his brief moment of restoration, a large group of his men stumbled upon him. One look at his shaken form and another at the unconscious girl and the men easily put two and two together.

"We need to hurry," are his only words for them as he quickly darts through the passageways. Shadows begin emerging from the deep crevices in the ground, but Sasuke fights his way through them.

In the nick of time, the men find themselves standing in a large hollow. All halt in their tracks and stare at a large light seeming to be suspended in the very center of the cavern. It dims in each passing moment, proof of its depleting force.

"The heart of the world," a man whispers to Sasuke's right.

Sasuke finds himself, along with all the others, gawking at the brilliance. He might have stood there forever if not for a fresh wave of tremors fracturing the earth. As numerous Shadows materialize, he leans Sakura against the stone wall before pulling his katana out to cut down the dark beings.

The shattering of the floor beneath him throws Sasuke off balance as a fresh batch of Shadows emerge from the dying earth. He throws himself into the fray, completely unaware of a particular white-robed woman regaining consciousness.


Her eyes crack open and it takes a moment for her vision to clear. When it does she finds her eyes drawn to a brilliant white light. Her body begins moving on its own, rising from the ground, stepping forward, guiding itself to its purpose.

This is what she has lived her whole life for, as a vessel for the ultimate power. A power that has always meant to be returned.

This is what the priests have always trained her for.

This is why the guardians have always protected her.

This is her life's purpose.

So why is she having second thoughts?

Breaking from her trancelike state, she glances behind her, at the dark haired man who has showed her a different aspect of humanity, one that she would have never witnessed from within the sanctuary. Watching as he moves gracefully through the motions of a born swordfighter, she feels her heart clench.

The crystal around her neck brightens and an image of young children with inky hair and emerald eyes running through a field of wild flowers presents itself to her.

A single tear runs down her cheek at the thought. "Why are you showing me this?" she whispers.

"To give you a glimpse of real life," an inhuman voice echoes through her mind. "You have served us well. You deserve this taste of being human."

More realistic thoughts that could be mistaken for memories flood in: warm arms wrapping around her at night, seeing the same dark hair streaked with silver in age, her own wrinkled hand held firmly by a stronger one.

It is at this point in time that Sasuke finally notices her standing beneath the dimming orb of light. She notices the slight widening of his eyes, panic evident on his face. Forgetting about his comrades and enemies alike, he darts forward, arm outstretched.

Sakura finds herself reaching towards him as well, a sad smile appearing on her face.

What could have been…

The thought lingers in her mind as she feels herself being lifted towards the world's weakening heart, her feet hovering above the ground as she gradually ascends. A strange warmth tingles in her chest, rapidly spreading through her limbs.

She watches as her body glows the same white light of the crystal.

Sasuke finally makes it to her and shoots his hand out as if to grab her ankle, but she is too far up for him to reach. Her eyes lock with his one last time and the heartbreak she sees there makes her wish that he would have dragged her back to the ground, that he would have kissed her passionately. A kiss of love, not revival.

As she merges with the light of the world, she finds her thoughts solely focused on the future that she wishes could have been.


He had been just a moment too late.

If his reach would have been but a centimeter higher he would have been able to secure a hold on her glowing body. Alas, he falls to his knees in despair, his arm still reaching up towards her.

He watches as her body crystalizes, a sad smile forever sculpted on her face. Bright light begins shining all around her as she becomes the world's life source, the heart.

The bright light dissipates the remaining Shadows and mends the smaller fissures that had appeared in the ground.

Even though its brilliance stings his eyes, he can find neither the energy nor the will to turn away.

A bitter laugh escapes his throat. The fates are cruel. Having him fall in love with a woman who must sacrifice herself or allow the very world to perish. Like everybody he has loved, she is taken from him.

Looking up at her hovering body, he notices a single drop of light fall. Merely turning up his palm allows him to catch the glistening object.

Examining it closely he recognizes as a teardrop shaped crystal.

"Sasuke Uchiha, you have proven your commitment not only to the world, but the crystal," the voice rings through his mind mysterious, yet distinctly feminine, reminding him of the first time he spoke with Sakura, or rather, ran a sword through her illusional bodies. "You are hereby given the title of Guardian of the Crystal and therefore of the heart of this world."


A/N: This is the result of playing too much Kingdom Hearts and watching Atlantis, Hopefully it is not too confusing for you.